Senators from both sides of the aisle are coming together to tackle what they see as wasteful spending in a program designed to help farmers with their environmental conservation efforts. Conservative Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and his liberal counterpart Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the EQIP Improvement Act yesterday, a bipartisan piece of legislation aimed at reforming the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). “Big Ag is hogging taxpayer dollars for their bloated, ineffective projects,” Senator Lee remarked, signaling a desire to ensure small farmers have better access to these funds, according to the press release.
Lee and Booker's joint legislative effort targets the allocation of federal funds within EQIP, which currently boasts a budget exceeding $1.2 billion. The new bill seeks to recalibrate spending away from infrastructure practices that often favor larger operations with minimal environmental payoff and redirect it toward practices with proven environmental benefits. The EQIP Improvement Act proposes to slash the overall payment cap on contracts from $450,000 to $150,000, which could allow funds to stretch further and support more farmers. "With this bill, we will see more federal funding go toward providing vital financial support to our small family farmers and ranchers," Senator Booker stated, as noted by the same press release.
Characterized by its attention to taxpayer and environmental concerns, the EQIP Improvement Act aims to eliminate an arbitrary requirement that 50 percent of EQIP funds – over $1.8 billion between 2017 and 2020 – flow to livestock operators. According to the bill, such changes would free up resources for over 222,000 contracts previously turned away due to a lack of funding, addressing a staggering unfunded backlog nearing $7.4 billion.
Highlighting the bill's approach to prioritize the most effective conservation practices, data from the USDA is put forth to back up changes proposed in the legislation. The Act would reduce spending on the least effective practices, allowing states greater flexibility in funding more impactful conservation methods such as cover crops, no-till, nutrient management, and streamside buffers. The current cost-sharing for less beneficial practices, which involve roads, fish ponds, and dams, among others, is set to be reduced from a maximum of 75 percent to 40 percent.
For more details on the proposed legislation and to view the full text of the bill, interested parties can visit Senator Lee's official website. The goal of the EQIP Improvement Act, as summed up by the senators, is to ensure a fairer distribution of financial assistance and to reinforce environmental stewardship among America's farming community.
